Shakeup from Stoughton elections a surprise for residents

STOUGHTON – It’s a changing of the guard for Stoughton’s Board of Selectmen as well as the School Committee as Tuesday’s elections swept new challengers into office.

Stoughton voters Tuesday ousted an incumbent selectmen, the board chairman, and two incumbent School Committee members, injecting new officials into office.

New Selectmen-elect David Sousa and Joseph Mokrisky, with 1,868 votes and 1,591 votes, respectively, were elected to two, three-year selectmen terms.

Incumbent Selectman John Anzivino, the board chairman, garnered 960 votes, not enough to win re-election to a third term. Incumbent Selectman Stephen Anastos did not seek re-election.

Neither of the incumbent School Committee members garnered enough votes for re-election. Deborah Sovinee, with 940 votes, and George Dolinsky, with 900 votes, couldn’t hold on to their seats.

Joaquin Soares Jr. received 1,418 votes, and Mari-Kate Pina-Enokian, received 1,377 votes and were elected to three-year School Committee terms. Challenger Randy Yanoff finished fifth, with 338 votes.

The outcome of the races were unexpected, said residents and town officials.

“I was very surprised at the selectmen’s race,” said Paul Berger, 88, of Stoughton. He voted in the elections and made his decisions after watching presentations by the candidates on the local cable station.

Berger knows something about local politics. He served as a town meeting representative for his precinct in Stoughton for five years. The World War II veteran is also one of the planners helping to decide the long-range master plan for Stoughton.

There is one area that needs immediate attention from the newly elected officials, he said. “They need to try and improve the conditions of Stoughton Square,” Berger said. “It’s terrible and there is nothing attractive. There are many empty stores and the businesses that are there seem to be suffering.”

Freshly minted Selectman David “Spanky” Sousa, said he was surprised by the outcome of the selectmen’s race. “I’m the new guy,” he said. “I am looking forward to serving the people.”

On Tuesday Sousa said the selectmen will vote for the new chairman of the board of selectmen.

Mokrisky, who was first elected as a selectman in 1992, has made a comeback to the board after an absence. He said he plans to repay the trust of voters with good, hard work. “I'm just happy to be elected once again,” he said.

Both Mokrisky and Sousa said they would vote to appoint Selectman T.J. Recupero as board chairman. Mokrisky said he likes Recupero's mannerisms and vision for the town, and the way he interacts with others.

The new School Committee members said they were grateful for the support that put them in office.

“I just want to thank everyone and I will be faithful to my promise and work hard for my children,” said Pina-Enokian.

Soares said he thanked people who voted for him and those who did not vote for him.

“I work for all of them," he said. “I feel very good. People have confidence in me to elect me.”

Both Soares and Pina-Enokian said they would vote to appoint incumbent School Committee member Erdem Ural as board chairman. “He's a very, very intelligent man,” Soares said.

Dolinsky, who will finish his first term, said the winning campaigns got the anti-incumbent vote out, and he was a little disappointed with the outcome.

“There's always next year. I haven't closed the door to running again next year,” he said. “I'm saving my signs.”

In all, 2,911 ballots were cast – 16 percent of eligible voters.Jennifer Bray may be reached at jbray@enterprisenews.com or follow her on Twitter @JenniferB_ENT.